Jump on the "I Can't stop this train" Train

[randy 77zt]

my brake set up has been used/abused on track for up to 1.5 hours at sears point.its not rocket science.front=toyota wide calipers,mm .3" spacers,84 300zx rotors drilled,porterfield r4 pads.rear=dp racing 2 piston willwood calipers/brackit kit,84 300zx rear rotors,porterfield r4s pads.i have a willwood propertion valve by the gear shift.lines are earl's.i use off the shelf front pads on the street.i change the pads when i put on the slicks.the r4s pads in rear are the only pads that dont squeek like wrc car brakes .sometimes installing race parts isnt a win/win situation.master cylinder is stock.i use ford brake fliud.car will remind you of why you need seat belts.be prepared to do some work after bolting stuff on -you might need to juggle brake pad types from front to rear if rears lock up too soon.

[cyrus]

Mas 280 where did you get your wilwood 13 with 6 piston calipers?

 

Also are the MM PBR the same as on the C5, cobra, and z06? ANy difference?

 

I like the MM because the rear does not move the wheels outward.

[cyrus]

Also can I mix the 13" arizona fronts with the MM rears?

[johnc]

Also can I mix the 13" arizona fronts with the MM rears?

 

What are the rotor diameters? How many caliper pistons and what are their diameters? What diameter MC piston size for the fronts and rears? Any porportioning valve installed? What's the knee point on the valve? What brake pad material?

[Doug71zt]

First - I'm going to preface this with a disclaimer - I really don't roadrace the Z, and I need more skill to push the car to it's limit. Others here have much greater depth of knowledge in what works on the track. These are my results of what I have done....

 

I ran the AZ 11.75 x 1.25 Wilwoods for 12 years on my car, with a ZX 15/16 master and Polymatrix pads. I rebuilt them before I sold them to the next owner, mainly for piece of mind, as they didn't need it. But, I also bled the brakes at least twice a year. I was very happy with them, even with 280Z drums on the back. I removed the stock pressure reduction valve in the rear lines to give the drums full line pressure. Later, when I did the Z31T CV conversion, I did rears with a Z31 rotor/ Volvo 2 piston rear caliper, which allowed the fronts to work to their full potential. Even better. I never had any heat issues with the brakes, even with a turbocharged car on the Mosport short-track (driving like a goofball with all that power under the hood).

A couple of years ago, I built a set of brakes with Z32TT calipers/KVR pads all around. 12.2 x 1.25 Wilwood directional rotors front, 11.75 x .810 rotors rear. I am not as happy with these brakes as I was with the Wilwoods, they do seem to have less feel/modulation is harder. I am going to change out my 15/16 master for a Z32 master this year and see if that helps out. The stock slider valve and my line-lock are right near my turbine housing, so the Z32 master will allow me to eliminate all that piping down there.

 

Also - If you haven't got SS flex lines and are running around with 30 year old rubber hoses in there - get rid of them before you blow one and end up in the sand trap. Please.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Doug

 

FWIW, at 116 mph, I can stop dead well before the first turnout.

[arizonazcar]

ARIZONAZCAR.COM BRAKE KIT INFORMATION and FAQ's

 

The below is from a brake kit FAQ's page I just added to my website,

I hope this is informative/ helpful / interesting to you.

Sincerely,

Dave

 

There seems to be a substantial amount of misinformation floating around on the web regarding

our brake kits and also Wilwood calipers, I would like to address some of these

issues. As the owner of Arizona Z Car I have approximately

22 years experience with making racing brake kits for Nissan's Sports cars.

During that time we have sold well over 1000 kits in dozens of countries world wide including

Australia, Japan , England, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada , and many others, including all

50 US states.

 

Question: Why do you use Wilwood calipers?

Answer: Wilwood calipers have always provided an outstanding combination of performance,

weight, and cost. They have continued to evolve over the years and In my opinion the current crop

of Forged Superlite, Billet Superlite 6 , and Dynalite calipers are world class in performance and

quality.

 

Question: What's the quality like on the rest of the components in your kit.

Answer: Our rotor centers and brackets are all CNC machined on the latest equipment

from 6061-T6 aluminum then anodized, All of our hardware is zinc plated and grade 8 or better.

The brake lines are made specifically for our kits. These kits are very complete as well.

 

 

Question: Can these brake kits really be used on the racetrack?

Answer: Yes we've had hundreds of customers use them in full out competition such as GT2, and

IMSA, also in open track events, solo , autocross, and hill climbs. I've personally used them in

hundred minute endurance races.

 

Question: Professional racers don't really use Wilwood calipers and rotors do they?

Answer: Actually they are used on Super Modifieds, Winston Cup cars, Craftsman trucks, sprint

cars, sports racers, and Nascar teams with budgets of tens of millions of dollars .

Here's some links you should really look at:

 

http://www.martinandkenseth.homestead.com/mcar.html

http://www.martinandkenseth.homestead.com/kwccar.html

http://www.listercars.com/1951%20F100.htm

http://www.dalejarrett.com/team.asp

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=9&article_id=1162

http://www.expertimages.com/dw17/car.htm

http://www.quinnracing.com/garage.htm

read about the supermodified

 

Question: How about street use.

Answer: I've had them on my street cars for 22 years and can outbrake anything on the road.

I currently have them on my 300ZX, 350Z and my 240SX

 

Question: Are they DOT approved?

Answer: No brake system is DOT approved

 

 

Question: Do the calipers need frequent rebuilds?

Answer: Out of the over 5000 Wilwood calipers sold by Arizona Z Car since about 1983, I think

we have sold 3 or 4 rebuild kits. ( I think 1 or 2 of them were just spares)

 

Question: How can they last that long?

Answer: The calipers are aluminum and don't rust, the pistons are stainless steel and are

extremely wear and corrosion resistant.

 

Question: Don't the calipers need dust seals?

Answer: No, I know of no reason for an additional seal, the O-rings completely seal out dirt,

water, dust etc., air can not get past the o-rings.

I personally had one set on 3 different cars (both race and street) over a 7 year period and

never had any reason to rebuild them , AFTER 7 YEARS THEY WERE STILL IN GREAT SHAPE WHEN I

SOLD THEM USED TO ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS!

 

Question: But I live in Chicago and drive it to work in the winter every day on severely pot holed

streets covered with salt.

Answer: You're an idiot.

 

Question: How about pad life?

Answer: Pad life is exceptional, because of the size of the rotor and the tremendous venting

heat is transferred to the air and surface temps are lower, combined with the large surface area

and thickness of the pads both pad life and rotor life are extremely good. It's possible to get many

years of use out of them.

 

Question: What about brake squeal?

Answer: With the current ceramic pads I include brake squeal is virtually nonexistent.

I can also supply higher temperature ( harder ) pads for track use only that may produce

squeal that would be objectionable on the street.

 

Question: Why don't your kits include an emergency brake?

Answer: Nissan's have never been equipped with an emergency brake.....they have a parking

brake.

 

Question: Same thing aren't they?

Answer: No not at all, An emergency brake means that if you're going 65 MPH down the road up

to a red light and you have complete failure of the front brakes and also complete failure of the rear

brakes you can pull the emergency brake and stop in time before the intersection. If you believe the

hand brake will stop you in that situation then ..........tooth fairy, Brooklyn bridge, check's in the

mail (pick one).

There were emergency brakes on cars in the 1920's

 

Question: How about a parking brake then?

Answer: I have a hydraulic line-lock to serve the parking brake function.

 

Question: But I live in San Francisco and have to park at the top of a hill pointed downhill and I go

out of town for a month at a time.

Answer: Get a brick.

 

Question: How hard are they to install? I don't have a lot of tools or experience working on cars.

also I only have a carport to do this in.....no garage.

Answer: Although step by step instructions are included and installation is very straight forward

you should get professional help. These kits should be easy to install for anyone with experience

working on brake systems and and Nissan's in particular. You must have the tools to do the job and

a proper work environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.arizonazcar.com

ARIZONA Z CAR

2043 E. QUARTZ ST.

MESA AZ 85213

Phone 480-844-9677

E-mail dave@arizonazcar.com

[Pop N Wood]

Question: But I live in Chicago and drive it to work in the winter every day on severely pot holed

streets covered with salt.

Answer: You're an idiot.

 

Gotta love a direct answer!!!!

[Cal Poly Zmanaustin]

That's some really good information. Thanks for the post Dave. I still say salt belongs on pretzels not the road.

[Schlasken]

i`m thinking about 2 kind of brake setups for my project. the first is arizonazcar frontbrakes with 6-piston front calippers with 13" rotors and MM rear s13 brake setup. would this be a good brake setup? and the other one is arizonazcar COMPETITION 5-LUG Racing Brake Kit on all 4 wheels with 12.2" rotors and 4-piston calippers. what do you guys think would be the best setup? and does the 13" rotor with 6-piston calipper clear a 16" wheel?

[Clifton]

i`m thinking about 2 kind of brake setups for my project. the first is arizonazcar frontbrakes with 6-piston front calippers with 13" rotors and MM rear s13 brake setup. would this be a good brake setup? and the other one is arizonazcar COMPETITION 5-LUG Racing Brake Kit on all 4 wheels with 12.2" rotors and 4-piston calippers. what do you guys think would be the best setup? and does the 13" rotor with 6-piston calipper clear a 16" wheel?

 

It seems that you don't have your wheels yet if you are deciding between 4 and 5 lug. I would look at your wheel options first. There are more 5 lug options without spending alot and you can run 17x 8(or 9)" fronts, 9" rears without going custom. If it's a street car 12.2 " is plenty.

[Cal Poly Zmanaustin]

and does the 13" rotor with 6-piston calipper clear a 16" wheel?

 

 

Unless you find some "special" 6-piston calipers I seriously doubt it. The 12.2 rotor is pushing it with the 6-piston caliper. Doable, but you are going to have something that is really tight in the wheel and barely fits. Just my .02.

 

Good Luck,

[arizonazcar]

With the 13" rotors some 16 inch wheels may fit but I normally specify at least 17's .

I also have a heavier duty 12.2" rotor ($60 option) that's a good match for the 6-piston calipers and you can still fit a 16" wheel.

Dave

http://www.arizonazcar.com

ARIZONA Z CAR

2043 E. QUARTZ ST.

MESA AZ 85213

Phone 480-844-9677

E-mail dave@arizonazcar.com

[Schlasken]

It seems that you don't have your wheels yet if you are deciding between 4 and 5 lug. I would look at your wheel options first. There are more 5 lug options without spending alot and you can run 17x 8(or 9)" fronts, 9" rears without going custom. If it's a street car 12.2 " is plenty.

 

i have wheels for my car that i will use until i can afford watanabe`s, but if i have to, i`l get some other ones. i really dont want bigger wheels then 16", as i like the oldschool style without to big rims. 15 is actually what i really want but i need to have good brakes to stop my z project on the track with 650hp... the car will se alot of trackdays, what do you guys think would be best? dont like the thought of 17"

[buZy]

Cool Thread!